


Beginnings: The Keeper of Swyn Llyfr

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-20
Updated: 2012-07-20
Packaged: 2019-01-19 23:19:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12420327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: Past rumors of a rising revolution of wizards and magical creatures become reality when the Kakev invade Lily Evans' and Riona Dyrdra's school.   The magical world is quickly crumbling into the hands of a mysterious and dark wizard whose thirst for the power of dark magic is focused on collecting an ancient book of magic called "Swyn Llyfr." ...





	Beginnings: The Keeper of Swyn Llyfr

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

**Beginnings: The Keeper of Swyn Llyfr**

by The Scribbler 

Summary: Past rumors of a rising revolution of wizards and magical creatures become reality when the Kakev invade Lily Evans' and Riona Dyrdra's school. The magical world is quickly crumbling into the hands of a mysterious and dark wizard whose thirst for the power of dark magic is focused on collecting an ancient book of magic called "Swyn Llyfr." Because of secrets in their pasts, Lily and Riona are unexpectedly caught in a fight for Swyn Llyfr and must sacrifice all that they hold dear as they stand between Voldemort and his rising dominion over all magic.

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ -

Prologue

I am the only one willing to tell our story. 

There are others, but they want to forget - they want to move on with their lives, they want to try to empty themselves of all that's happened...as if they could ever be fulfilled again. They won't. I won't.

And yet, what I remember is so much more than a justification of where we've been and what we've done. We were friends, first and foremost. Only after we found the Swyn Llyfr did everything change. 

Our story should be told for future generations that may see Him rise again. Our story should be told for those we've left behind - so they can remember us.

And, as stories often do, this one begins at an end. 

::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- :::

**One: At the Brink**

All I could think was, _This is my commencement day._

As I looked around my dormitory, my gaze fell on a formal black robe with a bright, round blue collar and cuffs placed on the foot of my bed. My mind suddenly perked up and the dormitory, the morning, and everything else disappeared. 

That was why I had woken up so early. I hadn't slept throughout the whole night. And like whispers, my dreams came back to me: darkness and screams, loud stampedes and yells sounding in the distance, a pair of eyes, so penetrating and knowing, as though they understood things about me I never wanted anyone to know.

"But it was all a dream," I murmured, running a hand over my flushed face. I don't know why I was surprised. I had been having similar nightmares for the past few months. Funny how we talk to ourselves for reassurance, as if speaking words of comfort could make what we want to believe come true. I dismissed my bad nights as results of the stress I've had with last minute schoolwork and career interviews before the big day. 

Sitting up in bed and rubbing my itching nose, I gazed out of the dormitory window to the right of my bed while I blinked away the haziness of sleep. The fresh daylight skirted around the Forbidden Forest to wrap around the castle's towers, greenhouses, and Quidditch Pitch. It was the kind of morning that would last into the afternoon.

I glanced at my roommates, who were in varied states of sleep with mouths open, heads on the foot of their beds, or wrapped in cocoon-shaped bedspreads. No wonder - it was only a quarter after six. Only mad people were awake at this hour. 

An insistent pecking at my window jarred my thoughts. I looked up in surprise and saw that it was Aegle, Lily Evans' owl, at my window with a letter in her beak. Her impatience told me that she had been trying to catch my attention for several minutes, so I quickly jumped out of bed and let her in. Handing me the letter, she stared at me expectantly. 

"So Lily wants an answer right away, does she?" I asked, petting her tawny head. Aegle hooted in response, nudging the letter in my hand. 

"Shh, don't wake anyone up. They'll have my head for waking them up so early," I warned, opening the hastily written letter. 

Riona,

Come and meet Alice and me in the Great Hall for THE LAST Hogwarts breakfast. Alice says she wants to plan out what we should wear for the concert this afternoon. And she says that we have to have matching hairstyles for the graduation ceremony tonight. She's such a dear to want everything perfect, but I just let her talk. She will never get me into wearing a fluffy dress for the concert, and I'm sure you don't want her to bedeck your hair in ribbons. I need your help if I want to fight off the fluffy dress idea.

_Lily_

So it seems no one could sleep last night - at least none of my friends - maybe there was something in the pumpkin juice Sirius Black gave us yesterday for lunch. If it was actually pumpkin juice, that is. 

I scribbled a note on the back of Lily's letter and gave it to Aegle, who cuffed me on the wrist for taking so long. Before I could protest however, she stepped off the windowsill and flew away into the hot sunrise. 

::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- :::

"But this dress would look just _lovely_ with your hair and eyes, Lily!"

"Alice, I don't like dresses. I've never liked dresses. I believe my mother when she said that I was born wearing pants. That's what I feel most comfortable in," I said in my sweetest tone. Yet the frown that clouded my face showed I was anything but comfortable at the moment. 

Alice Kennicott, on the other hand, was all smiles. "But you haven't even seen the dress, Lily. It's just perfect for you, really. Give it a chance! You'll look absolutely beautiful for James," she added offhandedly, giving me a knowing glance out of the corner of her eyes. 

At this I hesitated in my raging protest and blushed hotly. My relationship with James would celebrate its first year anniversary this July, and I had been wondering what special thing I could do for him. Alice knew this all too well. But she didn't know James - he wouldn't notice a new dress if the dress slapped him in the face. 

My thoughts were startled by someone rudely pushing past me, knocking my shoulder. I looked around to snap a comment, but I stopped short when I saw Severus Snape's black eyes glaring at me as he sat down at the rowdy Slytherin table. I scowled back at him. What was his problem? If he had heard us talking about James, perhaps the mere mention of my boyfriend's name ticked him off. I stuck out my tongue at him and whipped around, tossing back my hair. I had had enough of his male menopausal moods ever since last year, when James and I started dating. No matter how hard I had tried to restore the chummy friendship Sev and I used to have, he refused to even speak to me. That was just _fine_ with me - if he wanted to include me in the years-long feud he had with James, so be it! I sighed.

Fortunately Riona chose this moment to interrupt my pity party for one and plopped down next to Alice, startling Alice so much that she dropped her spoon in her porridge and splattered the table with the sticky stuff. Alice gasped and quickly took out a clean white handkerchief, wiping away the porridge from her manicured hands.

"At war this early?" Riona asked sleepily, serving herself a glass of orange juice. She eyed Severus across the tables and then arched an eyebrow at me.

"It's about time," I said, the relief in my voice causing Alice up at me suspiciously. "I mean, you almost missed our breakfast together," I added hastily.

"Luckily I was already awake by the time your dear owl arrived ready to break my window," Riona said, buttering a piece of toast. 

"Aegle can be persistent!" I defended my old but agile owl stoutly. "But we were afraid that you were going to stay in bed all day - on _this_ day, of all days!"

" _I_ wanted to let you stay in bed. I mean you haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately, what with those nightmares and all," Alice remarked, patting Riona on the back in concern. "Your eyes are drooping and you're too pale."

"You do look really bad," I elaborated, a twinkle in my eye as I tapped my wand on the table. A juicy red apple jumped into my palm from the fruitbowl, and I took a large bite.

Riona frowned in annoyance, and quickly glanced around for a change of subject. Then she noticed the empty seat with a hint of disappointment in her slender face. "Where's Remus?"

I smirked knowingly, chewing on my apple. "He's still in bed..." I crunched on my apple loudly and winked at Alice, and we giggled at Riona, whose pale skin was rapidly shifting to a bright tomato-red color. 

Riona cleared her throat loudly, frowning. She spotted the article Alice had ripped out of _Witch Weekly's_ fashion section and smirked. "Alice, you'e not going to get Lily in a dress. She would rather be eaten alive by rabid dragons."

I arched my eyebrows approvingly and nodded. "You always know how to say the right thing, Riona."

Alice sighed and folded the article, tucking it under her half-empty plate. "I just thought that since this was our last day together, we could get dressed up a little bit."

"Don't worry," I reassured her, patting her hand. "Riona's getting dressed up for you. She's even wearing a _dress_."

I laughed as Riona cringed. While Alice squealed at my announcement, Riona shot me an I-will-get-you-for-this look that I simply grinned at. 

Fortunately for Riona, James, Peter and Sirius, who decided to walk into the Great Hall just at that moment, saved Riona from further torment. 

"Are you still talking about clothes?" James asked in amusement, as though he never bothered to get dressed in his life. I smiled at him and scooted over so that he could sit beside me. He planted a kiss on my cheek and hooked an arm around me, taking a bite of my apple. 

"No, we're talking about the commencement concert tonight," I said, before Alice could interject. "We were wondering which band Dumbledore booked for it."

"It better be a band that plays actual music," Sirius spoke up, leaning over James and snatching a toast off Riona's plate, ignoring her glare. "Not that classical junk that McGonagall tried to get us to dance to at our End-of-the-Year ball last year."

Peter scurried over to James's other side and poured himself more pumpkin juice. "I kind of liked it - didn't you, James?"

"No, it sounded like kneazles screaming bloody murder, and I prefer to keep my eardrums, thanks," James said cheerfully. "But you didn't even make it to the ball, Sirius," he remembered, a slow smirk spreading over his face as he glanced at his friend.

Sirius grinned. "Oh yeah, that was the ball I took Patricia Monkus to, and we didn't even make it pass the gardens because we were too busy snogging and then -"

"Oh, that's where you did -" Peter interrupted, excited as he also remembered. 

"Thank you, that's all the detail we need to know," Riona said loudly, rolling her eyes at the goofy looks on the guys' faces.

"But that was such a, erm, triumphant night for Sirius," James assured me, with Sirius sniggering. 

"His finest hour," Peter echoed.

" _One_ of my finest hours,"Sirius corrected, stretching his arms proudly, amidst the blokes’ sniggers. 

I cast them all a wary look. "Hopeless - all of you are hopeless." For better effect, I lightly punched the pervert who was my boyfriend in the stomach. He playfully groaned and winked at me.

"But that doesn't make sense," Riona countered, shifting in her seat to confront Sirius. "There can't be many fine hours - the whole meaning of the phrase is to single out only one, right?"

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but then snapped it shut. "That's a trick question. Where's Remus when you need him?" he mumbled.

"Oh, quite pissed upstairs," said James with a grin. "We got him royally drunk last night, in celebration for our breaking out of this place for good. Poor bloke couldn't handle all the revelry. With the calming potion I gave him though, he'll be ready to drink some more tonight, no worries."

"Boys," Alice exhaled noisily, summing up the conversation quite well. "I'm glad Frank isn't so immature."

"How do you know?" Sirius accused, folding his arms behind his head. "You and Frankie have only been going out for a few months. He might be a righteous pervert."

"Like you blokes?" I asked, grinning.

"Not quite up to our level, but getting there,"James replied, kissing the top of my head. Peter chuckled, accidentally spilling juice on his shirt. 

"He hates it when you call him Frankie, Sirius," said Alice, frowning. "And anyway, the length of a relationship doesn't always indicate how well you know a person. You can know a person completely for years and not know them at all, or know them for just a few months and understand them completely."

A flurry of students ran past our table, and trailing behind them was a tall dark-haired boy, poring over an open book stacked upon half a dozen others in his arms. Severus was walking absent-mindedly through the Great Hall, his shoulders hunched in concentration. As he began to walk past our table, he glanced up, as if he felt my gaze. His black eyes met mine, and I quickly looked away, returning to our table's conversation. Severus silently strolled past me.

"For example," Alice was saying, "I've known Sirius for four years and James for six , but I feel like I’ve known the both of you for your entire lives."

At this the boys let out shouts of protest. 

"No way!"

"Yeah, right!"

"Alice is the type that can size you up correctly within ten minutes she's known you," I said, raising my voice over their objections. 

"In other words, Alice has all the right connections to gossip," Riona spoke up. "Very useful."She and I exchanged reminiscent nods.

"What about me?"Peter squeaked. "Do you know as much about me?"

Alice frowned, trying to remember. "No, not really. But that's because you're always so quiet, I suppose. Oh, and our families didn't know each other before Hogwarts like my family knew the Blacks and Potters."

"Well, James and Sirius aren't exactly complicated specimens of the male species," Riona observed, smiling over the rim of her glass as she finished off the orange juice.

"No, they're completely transparent," I agreed offhandedly. "I bet you," I went on, studying Sirius and James with a glint of fun in my eyes, "That Alice knows several things you guys never thought were kept completely secret."

James and Sirius stared at us in disbelief while Alice smiled primly, patting her blonde curls. 

"Why did Remus and I get detentions last week?"James demanded.

"You switched Professor Slughorn's grade books for ones that ignited when used," Alice responded promptly.

"How did I sneak firewhiskey into the Hufflepuff House party last month?" Sirius pushed.

"You bribed the House-Elves with more work to do in the castle."

"All right then,” James said, laughing. “What was I afraid of when I was little?"

"Vampires."

"Lily told you!" James accused, glancing at me, his lovely and innocent girlfriend, beside him.

"Nope,"I insisted, shaking my head stoutly. "But I still think that childhood fear is cute," I teased, giving his cheek a light pinch.

"Ha, ha," James retorted.

"What was the name of the dog I had when I was seven?" Sirius asked, frowning.

"Padfoot."

Sirius blanched as James moved on. "All right. If you know this one, then we give in."

"Bring it on," Alice yawned, winking at Riona and me. 

"How does Sirius feel about Gryffindor House?" James asked, casting her a shrewd look. 

An impish smirk spread over Sirius's smug face, and Peter chortled in glee.

For a moment, Alice hesitated while Riona and I held our breaths. 

"Hm," Alice began, with the grins on the boys' faces growing wider by the second. "That's a trick question. You see, Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor but he didn't want to be in it at first - he wanted to be in Slytherin like the rest of his family. But then he got used to it and even started liking Gryffindor once he met you, Remus and Peter, and once you all tossed dungbombs into the Slytherin common room to boost Sirius' morale. And now, Sirius is presently a raging, dyed-in-the-wool Gryffindor."

"Score!" I announced, high-fiving Riona across the table.

"Stalkers,"James muttered.

"If you lusted after us so much, all you had to do was say so, Kennicott," Sirius quipped. 

Riona gasped and looked at me. "Did you tell them?"

I placed a hand against my cheek in mock-surprise. "You know, it might've slipped!"

Alice scowled. "I am utterly devoted to Frank, thank you!"

We all burst out laughing as Alice flushed brightly, her naivete exposed. Our mirth echoed against the gaping windows of the Great Hall and startled the few remaining breakfasting students. 

To an outsider, this would not have seemed like the end of something. No one would've imagined that that in a few hours we would go our separate ways, leaving behind the school that had brought us together. 

But right now all that mattered was this moment - and our laughter.

::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- :::

My gaze involuntarily drifted to the full-length mirror facing me, examining the reflection of a pale girl whose dark eyes nearly engulfed her small face. I felt like my commencement robes were some kind of a ceremonial dress, preparing me for my entrance into the world beyond Hogwarts. Hm, black. Hopefully not a bad omen I thought. Yeah, right, Riona Ailbhe. Get a grip.

Shrugging, I turned to my night table and picked up a blue ribbon. I tossed my hair over my shoulder, its length reaching the floor. My hands dexterously wove through the thick hair, forming a long braid, and I tied the ribbon to its end. The only make-up I wore was around my eyes, since I detested the cakey stuff some other girls wore on their faces. Lily, I knew, would wrestle with the Giant Squid before putting any make-up on. And Alice? Well, Alice is just dear, make-up-loving Alice. 

I suppose the rest of the graduating Ravenclaw girls were downstairs in the common room. I didn't know what else to do, now that I was finished dressing. It had taken a shorter time than I thought, and only this morning I had thought that getting dressed for commencement would be the hardest part. Nope. The hardest thing is going to be going down those stairs and knowing I won't be climbing them again as a Hogwarts student. Tomorrow morning everyone was leaving. 

"Oh, enough of this," I snapped, shaking my head. "I just have to go downstairs like any normal person would do. Chat a bit, say good-bye to some people, and then go down to the grounds and join everyone else. After all, this is commencement. It's only the beginnings of things to come, right?" I glanced at the mirror once more, and my wide dark eyes stared back at me with no answer.

"That's the spirit," yawned a heavy witch from the tapestry above the mirror. She shifted her weight on her velvet couch, straightening her veil and raising a fist into the air, then falling asleep again.

Chuckling, I smoothed down my robes one last time and opened the door, shutting it without looking back. 

========

The chatter below livened my spirits some. It seemed like I was the only one who wasn't that happy about leaving, and I was quite glad of that- I didn't need to see anyone sobbing or getting emotional, or I suspected I would be, too. I stood near the stairs, taking in the familiar scent of pine mixed with musty parchment that permeated the room. Gleaming moonlight sifted through the tall rectangular windows that surrounded our oval common room. It was so bright that no one had bothered to light the glass lamps or crystal chandelier. The common room was made almost entirely of windows, with only thin slabs of stone between the ridges to assure you that you were in fact inside a building instead of standing on a tree top, overlooking the vast Hogwarts grounds. 

"Riona!" A girl with long, mousy-brown pigtails came running over to me. She came to a sudden stop and clapped her hands, her round eyeglasses catching a glint of the moonlight. "We were wondering when you'd come down. Aren't you excited? Everyone's talking about the concert, we even have bets about who's going with who, and of course we have bets on who will win the House Cup, I mean it's got to be Ravenclaw - we all made some pretty accurate calculations and they showed that we have a higher percentage of points than all the other houses except for Gryffindor, but there's always a marginal difference-"

My hands jerked to grab her shoulders, and she stopped in mid-sentence. "Marlene," I began with utmost impatience, and then took a deep breath, "I am excited about commencement. And I don't know who's going to play at the concert. I don't want to make bets, either on the band or who's going to win the Cup. Frankly, I don't care. Ravenclaw never wins because we focus too much on academics and not as much on, well, anything else. Okay?"

"And what about the concert?!"Marlene asked breathlessly, oblivious to what I had just rambled. "I asked Sirius Black to go with me, but he said he was temporarily deaf and if I could ask him some other time. The poor thing, I asked him if he wanted me to take him to Madam Pomphrey's, but he said it's incurable. Is there really an incurable magically-induced deafness?"

I pulled on a straight face. "Yes, of course."

"Well, maybe when I see him tonight I can ask him for a dance. I'll lead, since he won't be able to hear the music," said Marlene, clapping her hands again. "So who are you going with, Riona?"

"Uh, no one, really -"

"Because _I'm_ going with Gil Bates. He's a dear, but we're really only friends," Marlene interrupted, lowering her voice into a conspiratorial tone so that I had to bend closer. "Gil wants something more, but my heart still belongs to Sirius Black, the one and only wizard who is the noblest, the handsomest, the smartest..."

Luckily Darren Peeters, a prefect, approached us before I could gag my breakfast and lunch over the floor. "Here are you honor cords," he said briskly, handing Marlene and I two white velvet ropes from the pile he held in his arms. "You two are graduating with academic honors. Congratulations,"he yawned, then walked toward more seventh years. 

"Oooh, lovely," Marlene squealed, taking hers and looping it around her neck. "I was wondering when we'd get these! I have three others: one for Charms club, another for the Herbology club, and the other for the Alliance of Politically-Minded Wizarding Youth for the Defense of Magical Creatures' Rights!"

"APMWYDMCR, I remember," I said. I fingered the honor cord and lifted my braid to put it around my neck, pulling the fringe at the end of the white rope. "I don't really know what these are for except for showing off..."

At that moment a shrill voice rang beside my ear, and I jumped in fright. 

"CONGRATULATIONS, CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE WON ACADEMIC HONORS! WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT!"

"WHAT IS THAT?" I shouted, looking around while the rest of the Ravenclaws stared at us.

"THE WHOLE SCHOOL IS PROUD OF YOU! YOU ARE LA CREME DE LA CREME, THE ELITE, THE BEST, THE TRIUMPHANT, THE MAGNIFICENT-"

"Oooh, the honor cord is so flattering!" Marlene said in delight, pointing at the cord. 

I noticed that the fringe at the end of the rope was slightly quivering, and I could only figure that I had set off some type of enchantment while I played with it. I yanked the fringe with a vengeance, and the blaring acclamations instantly ceased.

"Yes, right, show's over people,"I snapped, waving off everyone's gawks and smirks. 

"Listen up!" Darren yelled. He was standing near the common room's entrance. He had to shout twice before he got everyone's attention diverted from playing with their own honor cords. For a few minutes, the common room was filled with cheers and jolly congratulations, and Darren had to jump up and down several times while shouting. At last, we all looked at him expectantly.

Panting from his efforts, Darren took a deep breath and wiped away the sweat from his face. "Everyone, get ready! the commencement ceremony is about to begin."

::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- :::

"No, you look better."

"Nah, mate, you do."

"I insist, Prongs, you look better than I do."

"No, no, my dear Padfoot, you look much better."

"You both look like prats," Remus interrupted in amusement. Peter chuckled, straightening his crooked robes' collar, while James and Sirius sniggered and I rolled my eyes. We were standing in front of the Grand Staircase along with the rest of the school dressed in their graduation robes. Several students were talking with the portraits of past teachers and renowned contributors of the school, while others were in small groups, hugging, laughing, and talking. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I were grouped to the left of the staircase. 

"But as prats, we look quite dashing," said James, patting down the silk black robes and ruby-red tie that hung loosely on his athletic frame.

"You got that right," I remarked, shooting him an appreciative look and giving him a soft kiss on the mouth. James smiled against my mouth and suddenly dipped me back so that my hair touched the waxed marble floor while I squealed. Then he gave me a long but chaste kiss that nonetheless made me quiver with delight. 

"Hey, hey, hey,"Sirius protested, his own red tie cast distractedly cast over his shoulder. But James and I continued our kiss as he exclaimed, "You know the rule, Prongs: no snogging in front of your friends unless they're snogging someone, too."

At last James broke the kiss and swung me upright. Hastily I brushed back my hair, blushing, and met James's cheeky smile with one of my own. He's too cocky for his own good... but that's part of his charm.

"You're just angry because Patricia Monkus broke your date tonight," James retorted, pulling me into his arms so that my head settled underneath his chin. 

"You got it all wrong, mate," Sirius snapped, "I broke up with _her_."

"But I was there when she broke up with you in the Gryffindor common room," Peter reminded Sirius, who broke into a scowl. "She said you're too flighty for her and that you flirt too much." "Who knew?" Remus remarked, exchanging grins with me. Sirius scowled and ignored us.

"Well, what are we waiting for, anyway?" Sirius muttered, eyeing the crowd of chattering students with impatience. The Slytherins were making their way toward the entrance, jostling the crowd. A lanky student with black hair and a pale face was looking over at us. But before I could decide whether to wave at Severus, he quickly turned and followed his House, which was already creating a ruckus with the Hufflepuffs.

James yawned widely, looking utterly bored. "When is this bloody ceremony going to get started?"

"When Dumbledore gets here," Alice replied, joining us. The lit crystal chandeliers shone against Alice's blonde hair, which was dressed lavishly in wisps of bountiful curls. She was proudly holding Frank Longbottom's hand, who looked quite uncomfortable in his stiff-necked black robes and was trying to loosen the collar every minute.

Frank scratched his neck and glanced around the room. "It's awfully warm in here, don't you think?"

"Are you still drunk from last night?" asked Sirius, smiling knowingly.

Flushing amidst Alice's curious gaze, Frank shook his head. "No, just warm, that's all." He smiled wanely at Alice. "Promise!" Alice smiled.

"Oh, Lily, you styled you hair! it looks perfectly lovely," Alice squealed, patting me on the shoulder as if I should receive an award.

I quirked an eyebrow and glanced at my straightened auburn hair that fell just past my shoulders. "Uh, Alice, sorry I didn't curl my hair like you asked me to."

Alice waved a dismissive hand. "But that kind of style becomes you! It's - it's..."

"Flat?" James supplied, groaning as I gave him a swift sock on the arm. "And gorgeous, of course," he added hastily. 

"So where's Riona?" Alice asked, looking around at the room that was already packed with the graduating colors from all four Houses. As each House filed into a long line, they carried their banner featuring the House mascot and colors, and Ravenclaw's bronze eagle, flying proudly across a velvet cloth of blue, already stood over the crowd of black robes along with the other three House banners.

"I don't know," I replied as the boys started debating whether they should run around in the buff as the ceremony's grand finale. "She said she'd be here as soon as Ravenclaw arrived, but I haven't seen her anywhere." But as my eyes searched the room for Riona's familiar dark hair and brisk walk, a strange feeling settled in my insides. I couldn't shake the sense that something was wrong. 

::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- :::

"I cannot believe I got lost on my last day at Hogwarts," I muttered, sighing and peering into the dim, abandoned hallway once more. My voice echoed back at me, signaling that the tunnel-like corridor would go on farther than I had already walked. I held up my lit wand, which only brightened a few paces in front of me, and tried to look for an exit nearby. But there was nothing, and I slowly began to panic. 

While the rest of Ravenclaw House has sensibly gone down the Grand Staircase to meet everyone else, I had wanted to take a last glimpse of the school grounds from the Astronomy Tower before I joined them. But as I left the Tower - distracted, I suppose - I obviously took a wrong turn and ended up in this forsaken hallway. 

Lily and Alice now cannot say that I'm not nostalgic, I thought, taking a few hesitant steps to what felt like a draft, and possibly a window. My fingers found nothing, however, as they reached along the grimy wall - and then, for some reason, my hand began to shake.

It seemed like it moved on its own, had its own mind - that it was a trigger, for my whole body began to tremble even though I felt no pain or fear. That was when a piercing ache started at the back of my neck. For a moment I faintly wondered if something had bit me, but somehow I knew that this pain was internal, caused by something inside of me... 

The darkness of the corridor deepened into a black without depth. I was blinded - my stomach turned inside out, thick bile rising in my throat - my body shaking uncontrollably, the pain in my neck now spreading to my head so that all I could do was scream. . . and scream . . . and scream - letting out all the pain that was pounding inside of me --

I saw Lily. I saw her shout. She was dressed in her graduation robes, and streaks of unnatural green light were flying across the ink black sky... 

And then Lily transformed into Alice, whose hair was disheveled as she struggled against an unknown person dressed in black robes and hoods.

I saw a gloved hand holding a wand in the starless sky, and at that moment I knew that Lily and Alice were dying.

Their screams... their screams tore my heart. Indescribable pain was killing my best friends, and I could do nothing about it - 

Blood- so thick it was almost black - dripped over the school grounds...the nausea in my stomach only grew as I saw the slaughtered bodies of Remus, James, Sirius and Peter -

The crescent moon stood silently in the black sky while the hooded wizards stalked over the dead bodies and entered Hogwarts. 

Then the blackness engulfed me, and I fell to the stone ground seeing nothing. 

::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- ::: -- :::

"Where is she?" I asked in concern, fretting with the sleeves of my graduation robe. "I can't believe she would miss her own commencement ceremony."

"She won't," Alice reassured me, even though she didn't sound so confident. Playing with the tip of her golden Hufflepuff tie, she sat up straight in her chair to look across the crowd of students again. "You know Riona - she's always late for everything.”

The crowd was immense - in an open space in the middle of the school grounds, facing the castle, students were filed into a large semi-circle over the trimly cut grass, sitting in plush velvet seats. Families sat on the outer circle, chattering loudly and flashing pictures that caused my classmates to rub their eyes. The teachers were sitting on a raised platform in front, talking amongst themselves, while the House ghosts floated over the ground to the right of the stage. Besides the soft gleam of the moon, Professor Flitwick had enchanted dozens of candles to surround the crowd, flames burning in the warm summer night air. An air of expectancy and excitement had settled over everyone - except me. The suspicious inkling that something was wrong was worsening by the second. I couldn't sit still. Even James was beginning to look at me in concern. 

"Lily, she's probably on her way, don't worry," James said, lowering his voice to my ear. 

"Right," I admitted, but nonetheless I still sat tensely in my seat, eyes alert for any sign of my friend. And then I frowned when I glanced at the Slytherins, who had separated themselves from the crowd. Along with Severus, some Slytherin students weren't seated.

"I can't believe that Dumbledore's not here yet," Sirius, who was seated at Remus's left, griped. "You'd think that as our Headmaster he'd be here first."

"Well, he did tell us at a Head and prefect meeting that he might be a bit late," Remus said, remembering. 

"Maybe Dumbledore is getting something special for the commencement ceremony," Peter suggested. "He did that last year, remember?"

"Yes," Sirius said, grinning reminiscently."Those everlasting fireworks didn't die throughout the whole night!"

A scuffle to Alice's left alerted her to Frank coming back from greeting his parents. "Right angry they are," he said cheerfully, smiling at Alice as he took his seat beside her.

"Why?" she asked, frowning.

"Because I haven't received as many honors as they hoped," Frank answered. He ran a hand through his neatly trimmed brown hair and shrugged. "I only got three."

"At least you got honors," Alice comforted him, placing her head on his shoulder. "I didn't get any, and Mum's actually happy - she says ladies shouldn't show off their intelligence."

"But you don't need to show off for anyone," Frank murmured against her hair.

A few seats over, my patience was starting to wear thin. My boyfriend's mischief had distracted me from worrying about Riona. "You're not going in the buff to accept your diploma, James," I said, rolling her eyes. 

"I don't have anything to be embarrassed about," James said, winking and pretending to flex his arms.

"Besides, we need to finish our legacy at Hogwarts right," Sirius added, shaking back his shaggy black hair. "Who will lead the masses of mischief and mayhem when we leave?"

"I, for one, think going in the buff is too easy," said Remus, shaking his head and grinning. "I'm surprised at you, Prongs- I thought you were the master of pranks."

"Now wait a minute," James protested, with me laughing beside him, "Going in the buff is only _half_ of the plan-"

"Shhh!" Peter suddenly whispered. He nodded up at the teacher's platform, his watery blue eyes wide in anticipation. "Dumbledore's just arrived."

A tall silver-haired wizard had walked up the platform and was now facing the crowd, which erupted into loud cheers and clapping. Under his dark violet wizard's hat covering his white hair, Albus Dumbledore gave them all a welcoming smile, although his eyes seemed troubled. Clearing his throat, he aimed his wand at the base of his neck and muttered something. "Good evening to all of you!" he declared, his deep voice magically amplified. "And what a beautiful evening it is!"

He then stretched his wand to the sky, and the twinkling stars glided over the night sky to form one glistening word: “Congratulations to the Hogwarts' commencement class of 1977!”The crowd broke into gasps of surprise and delight, which were only heightened as Dumbledore's wand hovered over the four corners of the grounds and caused jets of white streamers to shoot from the ground and coil into sparkling branch-like ornaments that surrounded the semi-circle. While the candles brightened in their light, the Headmaster nodded to Professor McGonagall, who brought out a leather box filled with rolled parchments tied together in thin black bows. 

Dumbledore beamed in pleasure and nodded at the applause. "Let the ceremony begin!"

And as Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat to begin his farewell speech, the same feeling of foreboding rose up again within me. I turned my head slightly to the left, over James's shoulder. Squinting, I thought I could make out a huddled group at the edge of the Forbidden Forest's shadows. But when I looked more closely, no one was there. 


End file.
